


Paint Me Like The Stars

by njhft_mgc



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ???? - Freeform, Actor Bucky Barnes, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Steve Rogers, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Epic Friendship, Everyone Has Issues, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Bucky Barnes, It's like super friendship fic, M/M, Naked Bucky, Nudity, Stucky - Freeform, Tumblr Prompt, but they still cute, heh I'm pervy, idk - Freeform, slight angst, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 04:31:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5854351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/njhft_mgc/pseuds/njhft_mgc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>prompt off tumblr omf : otp are friends, Person A is an artist but last minute their model (Person C) becomes unavailable and Person B volunteers to fill in oMf so Person A: Steeb Person B: Buck Person C: Nat</p>
<p>Or</p>
<p>Steve is an up incoming artist with a new project but his friend cancels on being his model last minute, but someone else volunteers to replace them. Let the lovin' begin!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paint Me Like The Stars

**Author's Note:**

> oMg i've been writing this all day on my laptop and like i'm getting such happy feels bc i've been home all day wwatching movies and writing this weep s - hope you like it !

“What do you mean you can’t make it tonight? I have to have this painting in by next week, I ain’t got time for this.”

 

A very frustrated Steve Rogers muttered through his phone, pacing back and forth in his loft entranceway. His model for a painting had just cancelled on him and he was beyond upset at this point.

 

“I’m sorry, Steve, but my agency just informed me on a new gig that just became open. You know I can’t miss it.” Natasha, Steve’s friend and model-in-progress hurried back.

Steve just sighed and shuffled to the living room, where his roommate and best friend James sat in the middle of the floor, scrolling away at something on his laptop. He glanced up at his anxious buddy and raised an eyebrow in questioning. Steve just shook his head and gestured that he was on the phone.

“I get it, Nat. Pretty sure you’d rather be posing for the big paying cameras rather than posing for some low life painter. But you’re still coming for dinner later, right? Making my famous pasta dish.”

As he heard Natasha laughing down the line, he put it on speaker so James could also hear. The latter just rolled his eyes and chuckled lowly, shutting his laptop slowly and stretching his limbs, leg outstretching and poking Steve in the side.

“Wouldn’t miss your mom’s Orecchiette with Meatballs for anything. Even if aliens were to try and take over the Earth, you know my last meal’s gotta be that.” This made both James and Steve crack up, James being the first to recover as he reached out and snatched the phone away from the cackling man on the couch.

“You don’t mean that, Nat. You _obviously_ mean my _amazing_ lasagne. And hey, don’t worry about the painting thing with Stevie. I’ll take you place as the beautiful lady with the apple basket or whatever the fuck it is.” James spoke out to the woman on the other side of the phone, gaze fixated on his friend across from him.

It was Steve’s turn to raise a questioning eyebrow at the other, who just shrugged in return.

“Well, it’s good when we’re drunk. Don’t know about the whole sober thing. Really? I appreciate that, Buck. You do make a beautiful woman.”

James couldn’t help but smile at the nickname his friends had come to call him. Apparently James was too common of a name, so when Steve and Natasha first met him they asked for his middle name.

 

_“James Buchannan Barnes is the name, make what you want with that.”_

_Steve paused for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked the other male up and down and glanced over to where Nat stood, biggest smirk on her face as they shared a nod._

_“Bucky it is! Nice ta meet you.”_

That day still puts Buck in the best mood possible, if he hadn’t met his two friends back in college when he did, he was pretty sure he’d be done for.

The phone conversation died down soon after and they paid their goodbyes to each other, and Seve looked to Bucky, giving him a once over.

 

“Will you really help with my painting? Because I swear, I’ll get you anything you want.” James just laughed, crawling a bit on the floor to where Steve sat, shaking his head as he did so.

“Nah, what are friends for. Think of this as a thanks for talking to me that first day.”

Steve gave a knowing nod, though a question did cross his mind. One that usually did when Bucky began talking like this, yet he’d never felt up to asking it. Maybe he should this time…

 

“Why are you so happy about meeting me?” Steve asked, sounding a little more hostile than he wanted to come across as. He noticed the small tint of pink that began to blossom across Bucky’s tan cheeks, gaze averting to the living room window, showcasing the busy and loud environment of Brooklyn, New York.

 

“Because you pretty much saved my life..

 

I’d been in a pretty bad place the year before I went to college. After a mountain climbing accident on my graduation trip, I’d lost my left arm and fell into a real dark place. I never wanted to leave the house, worrying all the people around me. That continued on for about half a year, then the only times I’d go out was to the local bar to sedate my mind with whiskey and to a shitty part-time job since I wasn’t “mentally stable” enough to get a full time one.”

James proceeded to splay himself across the floor comfortably as he indulged this story to his counterpart. Steve slid down to lay down next to Bucky, the soft atmosphere and warm temperature of the loft set a calm scene.

 

“I hated the world, man. I would wonder why I was kept alive after the accident to just have a shabby job and barely be able to buy dinner let alone live away from home. But, after my parents had had enough of me bumming off their resources, they enrolled me into college. I didn’t have the need nor enthusiasm to go and pursue my so called dreams.”

“Thought you wanted to be an actor.” Steve piped up, soon regretting his interruption and began to sit up. “Sorry, continue while I set up the paint stuff.” He stood up, straightening his clothes and started towards the other side of the room, dragging the easel from it, blank canvas and brushes already situated against it, to the middle of the room. James exhaled a shaky breath, placing his right arm on the couch to lift himself up onto it.

“Not an issue. What pose would you like me to do? Want me to get my arm?” Steve’s attention returned to Buck as he finished setting up, eyes dragging over his new subject with a new found interest. Now that he had to paint the other, Steve found himself more entranced with the sharp features of his friend’s cheekbones and jaw, his broad shoulders that fill out the maroon body shirt he wore, the arm sleeve empty, showing where James’ left arm should be. He never liked wearing the prosthetic his parents got for him a couple years back, though it definitely would have helped him out more.

 

“If you don’t mind, shirt and pants off. Underwear is _super_ optional, but you can keep it on. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Sitting on the couch and no arm is good for now.” Steve mumbled, a little embarrassed with his requests as he draped the paint-stained apron over his clothes, staring intently at Bucky.

Bucky on the other hand had no problem with this, pulling his shirt over his head quickly, pants and boxers following behind soon after. But even though he was okay with being naked, he nervously ran his fingers through his neck length hair, self conscious about his arm.

“You sure about that?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. If you don’t mind...” Steve trailed off, walking over towards James cautiously, hands in front of him and gesturing in a way to show he wanted to position Buck differently. The other male just shrugged his shoulders and spread himself out some more.

Steve inhaled deeply, placing his hands securely on Buck’s shoulders, tilting him to lie on his stomach gently. Bucky obliged happily, shifting to get more comfortable. Steve instructed him verbally the rest of the way, telling him to rest his head over his right arm so he could paint both the stub and his full arm. James couldn’t help the smile that graced his face, he knew the idea Steve wanted to capture so he sat still, crossing his ankles over one another and humming under his breath.

Steve went back to the easel, dragging a stool over so he could sit and he began to lightly sketch out the rough beginnings of his art, looking over to his subject expectantly.

“Oh yeah, the story. I did want to become an actor, it’d always been my dream to perform, used to even do theatre in high school. But with the whole only-got-one-arm thing, that didn’t seem possible. I was so over the whole art college thing after only a year, so when second year came around and you and Nat joined that one improv class I was forced to enroll in, it was like the best thing to happen to me… I owe so much to you, Steven, you don’t even know I wouldn't have graduated with all the experience I'd gotten, for sure...” He trailed off slowly, shifting his eyes to look at Steve, who was focusing intensely on painting along the fine lines of the facial features but soon paused in his art creating, tilting his head over to stare at the very open and vulnerable man laying on the couch. He bit his lip, chewing down for a minute before nodding quickly.

“You don’t owe me anything, Buck. Just the fact that you’re willing to be so open with me, literally and metaphorically, puts me at ease and shows a lot,” Steve resumed his painting, taking great care with the outcomes of each brush stroke and every shade of tan he got to use with the sculpted back of his _friend,_ “so don’t sweat it. What are friends for if they don’t cook you some drunk lasagne and paint your ass?” He may have cracked some jokes, but he felt his cheeks quickly flush when he heard the melodic laugh come from James.

“You’re right on that one, you better make my ass look nice, dude. The girls seem to really like it when we go out.”

 

 

“Wow, your ass looks so… _realistic_.”

James huffed slightly at the cringe on Natasha’s face, though she just grinned cheekily back and said she was just kidding around.

Steve had just finished his painting when he heard the knock at their door, James rushing to pull his sweatpants back on, letting them hang low on his hips and Steve’s face full on turned tomato red as his eyes followed the curve of the other’s back, how Steve could barely make out the little bump where Bucky’s pert behind began and he knew he was in too deep now.

“Don’t mock my artistry, dear Romanoff.” Steve quipped to the two people residing at the makeshift dining table, popping out from where he was in the kitchen, stirring the last part of his pasta dish.

“Oh, you made Barnes’ behind look smoking, s’all good.” Natasha let out a short whistle, and Steve smiled gently when he noticed how flustered Bucky looked, standing up from his seat and sauntering over to the kitchen, shooting Steve a warning glare as his cheeks flared red.

“Ignore her, you looked fine. More than fine, actually.” Steve shamelessly said to the back of Bucky’s head, who was tampering with the stereo system they kept in the kitchen, popping in a CD and hitting play. The kitchen soon filled with the sound of a relatively new artist, yet it was just right for Buck’s strange taste in music.

“Refrain from flirting with me as Troye Sivan fills my eardrums, thank you very much.” Quickly finding his composure back, Bucky shot back a reply as he swayed aimlessly to the calming indie pop music and Steve turned the stove off, moving along to the music as well. He quickly made his way to the other, watching as James leaned against the counter behind him to create some distance but that just wasn’t possible, Steve closing in on him and trapping the slightly shorter of the two with his arms.

“I like seeing you get all flustered, honestly. It’s super adorable, makes me want to do it all the time. But only if you would let me do it, of course.” Steve chimed out, a slight tune to his tone and Bucky was soon forgetting all about the music in the background and that their best friend was in the other room, most probably listening to them.

“Y-you’re not serious, right?”

“I don’t know, Buck. I’ve been so confused lately, and hearing how I’ve helped you so much without doing much more than starting a conversation with, “Hey, I like your Star Trek shirt.” It’s…. complicated, for sure, but hear me out.” James’ face relaxed from that, eyes desperately searching Steve’s for an answer.

“I understand.”

Steve’s eyes went wide, surprise etched into his handsome features and he leaned forward out of instinct, causing their foreheads to bump slightly.

“What? You understand?” Steve sputtered out, quickly interrupted by a loud groan from behind the two of them. They averted their attention to the entrance of the kitchen, where Natasha stood over the stove, a plate in hand and she began to scoop some pasta onto it. She rolled her eyes and Steve and Bucky, shaking her head in the process.

“Just confess your undying love already, geez. We ain’t getting any younger here, I call Maid of Honour.” She shot a wink at the both very confused and embarrassed men and stalked out of the kitchen, already digging into the dish and slightly moaning at the decadent taste.

James was the first to laugh, leaning in more so he could ghost his lips over his friend’s.

“I think we both knew about this undying love she’s talking about. Just didn’t know how to say it…”

They looked at each other for a moment, the sweet yet awkward air around them getting thicker and thicker with the passing seconds. Steve soon averted his eyes to where Buck’s left arm stopped, lifting one arm from where it’d been on the countertop to the man’s shoulder, touch as gentle as a feather yet James could feel the places Steve touched heat up, sucking in a breath of air and pursing his lips. He knew the anxiety was bubbling over in his mind, teeth clenched tight together but that all too quickly disappeared when he felt the firm but short brush of lips meeting his.

“Tell me when you it’s too much for you, James. Not even just now, forever. If we were to drift apart and stop talking, I still want you to tell me when you feel overwhelmed. Because I will always care about that, trust me. You’re so important to me.” Steve spoke against the still lips of his love, experimentally getting close again. This time, Buck felt more calm and leaned in as well, connecting their lips in an electric kiss.

“Worth the wait for sure, yep.” Steve whispered out as they parted for air, chuckling along with James.

 

 

A couple weeks following the very eventful dinner, the trio of friends were meeting up for a pint or two at the local bar and diner.

“Well well well, how’s the happy couple?” Natasha sung out when Bucky and Steve sat down at the table she had reserved, Steve just brushing her off with a joking sigh.

“Just peachy. Or do you want some juicy deets?” Bucky spoke with an over-exaggerated feminine voice, resting his chin on the palm of his hand and batting his eyelashes happily. Natasha scowled a little, lightly smacking Buck’s elbow so his arm would fall, causing him to stagger forwards with a truly displeased look on his face.

“Calm down, kids. We’re trying to not get kicked out, right? Not again, at least.” Steve said between some laughs, arm draping itself on the back of Buck’s chair as he sat back. Natasha, on the other hand, was too busy trying to avoid the angry flicks of a very angry man”

“Steve’s right, so let’s leave my ear alone so we can eat dinner and drink and use all of Steve’s money, okay?” Bucky’s frown soon dispersed into a small grin, glancing towards his _boyfriend_ with some hope.

“Well, I did sell that painting for some money, so sure. My treat.”

Both Nat and James sighed out in relief and responded in unison, “Good since I forgot my wallet.”

Natasha and Buck both turned to each other, eyebrows knitted together and childishly argued back and forth for the other to stop copying them.

“It’s like I’m dating Nat sometimes, so please stop with the whole saying stuff at the same time thing.” Steve groaned out, rubbing his temples expressively and nudged Bucky’s side with his elbow at the same time.

“I take offence to that, Rogers. Please refrain from insulting me.” Natasha sassed in return, really sounding like Bucky at the moment. This just got the other male more riled up and the moment the waiter brought around a pint of beer for the three of them, he began to begrudgingly down his.

“You both offend me, thanks. Can’t remember why we’re friends still.” Bucky complained lightly, placing his half full cup back onto the table and glaring between his two best friends.

Steve just shrugged and grinned mischievously, knowing exactly what to say to his boyfriend at a time like this, main goal to get the other very frustrated.

“Well, what you said to me back when I was painting your bare naked body begs to differ.” Steve said, taking a couple sips of his own beer as he looked at his partner’s quickly reddening face.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“No, I want to hear about this! You can’t keep shit from me and you know it, _suka._ ” Natasha slipped into Russian at the end, which made Bucky a bit less hyped up.

“ _Ya pluchu tebya, ya obeshchayu_. Just you watch.” Bucky muttered under his breath, barely audible to even Steve but Natasha belted out laughing, attempting to string something together but giving up.

Steve may have not understood their conversation following after, but assuming from the large grins on each of their faces, they were having some proper fun for once. Didn’t mean that Steve didn’t want to join in as well.

“How do you say I love you in Russian?” He asked, the two Russian people turning to him with a contempt expression.

“Ya tebya lyblyu.” Natasha responded, a proud smile on her face as she saw Steve turn to face Bucky, taking his hand happily.

“ _Ya tebya lyblyu_ , Buck. ‘Til the end of the line.”

Bucky exhaled a small, quiet laugh, first at Steve’s adorable pronunciation but soon he fondly smiled at his lover, nodding quickly.

“ _Ya tozhe tebya lyblyu_. I love you too, Steve. Nothing could ever change that. Not even you selling a painting of my ass, really.”

They all laughed at this loudly, food soon arriving for them and ate happily, just merely enjoying each other’s company. Friends were forever, Bucky learned this quickly apparently.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> this was different, i've only ever written one other AU fic but nothing like this heh still wondering what i do with my life oopsie - got this prompt off tumblr, why not follow me there : damned-if-i-do-stucky.tumblr.com


End file.
